His Best Girl
by GBlove
Summary: ...he leans forward and rests his forehead on the edge of the bed. "I'm so sorry," He whispers. Then he kisses her. Her eyes flutter open and she looks at him through their kiss. They look at eachother for the first time, really.
1. Chapter 1

Adrian Lee looked up towards the blank, white sky and breathed deeply. All she could smell was car exhaust. Up ahead she saw her condo, as ugly as ever. It was Monday afternoon, her least favorite day. She had just driven home from school, where she was a junior in high school.

She sighed and walked across the parking lot towards the building. Once inside, she took off her leather jacket and boots. Her mother wasn't home as usual; she was a flight attendant and had to work all the time. Her father was at work but he should be here soon.

Adrian was in a bad mood. First, she was furious with Amy Jergons who had called her a slut five times that day. Second, her boyfriend Ricky never had time for her anymore; he was always over at Amy's house with his son John. Third, Adrian's father was trying to get her to apologize to Amy, even though Amy was the one who called _her_ a slut. And finally, she thought she might be pregnant.

Furiously, she ripped a pregnancy test out of her bag and stormed off to her bathroom. She felt like beating someone up. Five minutes later she was staring down at two vertical lines in the window of the pregnancy test.

"What…what do two lines mean?" she said out loud. She grabbed the directions and learned that it meant she was if fact, pregnant. She muttered a few swear words in Spanish and chucked it in the trashcan.

She heard a door opening and then closing. Her father was here. She didn't want to talk to him, needed time to think. But she couldn't act like a little baby who ran from her responsibilities, so she forced herself to go out there and tell him.

He was standing by the counter flipping through a newspaper. He glanced up when she came in to the room.

"Hello Adrian," he said briefly.

"Hey Reuben," she muttered back flatly.

"Is Ricky coming over tonight?" he asked, not looking up from the paper.

"Uh…no," she said. But then she changed to a more serious tone and said, "Look, I have something to tell you and you're going to flip but I need to tell you."

Her father looked up from the newspaper, "I'm listening," he said.

Adrian swallowed and said, "I…Uh…well I…It's just…" she decided to be more subtle, "You, know they say birth control is only ninety nine percent effective," then she glanced down at her still flat stomach.

Her father's eyes grew wide. "Are you saying…"he didn't finish his sentence.

"Yeah", Adrian said. She tried to hug her dad but he stepped out of the way. Adrian looked at him, confused.

"Adrian." He said slowly, "I think I need some time to give this a little thought."

"Oh. Okay," she said a little hurt.

He nodded and walked out of the condo. Just then Adrian's cell phone rang in her pocket. She answered it already knowing who it would be.

"Hi Ricky. You can't come over tonight, I have to study."

"Come on. You can take one night off from studying." He replied in his confident tone.

"No. I can't. I've got a big test tomorrow."

"Is your mom or Reuben there?" Ricky asked, ignoring what she had just said.

"No, my mom's flying and Reuben just left but I just told you I couldn't. And it's not like you can't find some other girl to go over there," Adrian said harshly.

"Yeah but I want you." He said.

"Oh give me a break Ricky," Adrian said getting annoyed, "I said no okay?"

"Fine," he said, "Goodnight."

Adrian flipped her phone shut and put it back in her pocket. She didn't know why she was being difficult with Ricky. Maybe it was the mood swings kicking in.

She hadn't quite gotten used to the idea that she was _actually_ pregnant. It was like she expected to wake up from a bad dream or something. _I can't believe this_, her inner voice said.

Meanwhile Ricky was sitting on his bed looking around. _What do I do now?_ He asked in his head. Across town Adrian was asking herself the same thing, but in a very different way.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day at school Adrian was putting a few books in her locker when Ricky walked up.

"Hey," he said, "How was studying last night?"

Adrian half smiled but for once could not come up with a clever reply.

"So how about tonight?" he asked leaning against the strip of wall next to her locker.

"Sure," Adrian said, not really paying attention to what he was saying.

Ricky narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Nothing."

"What is it?"

"Nothing's wrong," she said, not looking him in the eye, "See you later." She kissed him briefly and brushed past, not really knowing where she was going. She spotted Grace at her locker and walked up to her.

"Hey".

Grace sighed and said, "Everyone knows, you know."

Adrian's heart started pounding, "_What?_"

"About Madison and Jack," Grace told her, "Everyone knows they did something."

"Who cares if they did something?" Adrian asked, relieved, "It's not like he would want to be with _her._"

"Adrian, _I _care," Grace said, "I thought Jack and I were past that," she looked down, "I thought he only wanted to be with me."

Adrian threw her hands up and said, "Jack doesn't love her! And even if they did do something, it didn't mean _anything._ Don't make too much of it."

Grace shook her head. "I'm trying but…" she trailed off just as the bell rang.

"I should get to class," Grace said dully, "I don't want to be late."  
"See you later," Adrian said. As Grace walked away Adrian looked around. She saw Amy walking in her direction. She thought maybe now was a good time to try to apologize again, even though she still hated Amy and didn't want to talk to her at all.

Adrian caught Amy's eye and went over to her. She was wearing her straight, red hair in a headband and was carrying her French horn. _She has no right to call me a slut, _Adrian thought furiously, _she's a year younger than me and she's a band geek and she had a baby at fifteen, _but then another voice in her head told her, _Yeah, but I'm pregnant and I'm only seventeen. _

"Hi Amy. Look, I don't want there to—

Amy cut her off and said, "Sorry I have to get to class. I don't have time to stand around and talk to sluts. Slut."

Adrian narrowed her eyes and smiled. She liked a challenge. Not that Amy was a challenge, but she was good practice, "It takes one to know one"

Amy's lip quivered as she said, "Get away from me."

"With pleasure," Adrian said walking away. As she passed Amy she murmured, "For the record, I'd rather be a slut than you any day."

As Adrian went off in the other direction Ricky walked up to Amy with his hands in his pockets.

"Were you just talking to Adrian?" he asked.

She wiped her eyes and replied, "Um, yeah. I have to get to class."

She walked off and tried to calm her breathing. A year ago she never would have talked to Adrian that way, let alone use the word _slut. _Sometimes Amy didn't even know herself anymore.

Adrian hadn't really felt like going to school that day anyway, so she decided to go for a little drive. When she had first met her father Adrian had felt like he was taking over her life. So she tried to go away for a few days but got stopped by a cop who made some excuse about truancy. But of course Reuben had been behind it.

So Adrian drove and drove, not knowing where she would end up. She didn't know how long she was in that car and before she knew it, it was getting dark outside. Reuben would probably be home so she decided to turn back. Around eight o' clock she arrived at the door to the condo. As she was searching for her key in her bag she heard voices coming from inside. As she listened closely she realized that it was Reuben's and her mother's. Finally she found her key and unlocked the door and pulled it open. She had to pull hard; the door sticks. In the living room she found Reuben and her mother standing up, facing each other is if having an argument. One look at her mother, and she knew she knew.

"Hi," Adrian said cautiously. Her mother looked as if she had been crying, while her father looked angry.

"Adrian, honey," Cindy, her mother said soothingly. Adrian smiled tightly. She and her mother had not always had the best relationship. Cindy was not able to spend much time with her daughter, because she was always working and when she wasn't, she spent all her time with whoever she was dating at the time.

Reuben crossed his arms and looked right at Adrian, "Where have you been? Your school called me at work asking where you were." Adrian hadn't thought that part through.

"Uh…I was with a friend," she replied. Reuben cocked his head and said, "What friend? And before you say Grace or Ricky listen to this. About an hour ago Ricky showed up at the door looking for you and Grace called earlier. You don't have any other friends than that." Adrian exhaled loudly before saying, "Well maybe I just needed to get away for a few hours, okay? I've had some thinking to do. It's not that big of a deal."

Reuben cleared his throat. "Adrian, sit down. We need to discuss…uh," he nodded to her stomach. Adrian self-consciously folded her arms over her middle. She slowly left her place at the door and sat down on the edge of the couch. She was suddenly uncomfortable.

Cindy spoke up next, "Honey, we've been giving this a lot of thought and we've come to a decision." Adrian expected her to say that she should get an abortion or something. It was just like her mother to want the easiest thing for herself. Adrian waited patiently for her to continue. Cindy glanced at Reuben and he nodded her on, "Adrian," Cindy struggled to find the right words, "It seems as…we think it might be best for you to stay with a friend for a while. Grace perhaps?"

Adrian wasn't sure if she had heard her right, "Stay with a friend? So…you're like…kicking me out?" Adrian's voice cracked as she said the last word.

Cindy frantically shook her head, "No! No, sweetie it's not like that! We just—

Reuben held up his hand to stop her. "Adrian we just don't think we can deal with this right now. We're not sure if it's best for you to live with us if you're going to be having a child."

Adrian glared at them and said, "But apparently kicking me out of the house _is_ what's best for me," she laughed in spite of everything, "its funny how that works isn't it? I get pregnant and the _best _thing for me is to kick me out."

Now Reuben was getting angry, "Hey! Don't make this our problem! You were the one to get pregnant. If you think you can take care of yourself and make your own decisions then you don't need us, do you?" Cindy shot him a stern look, but didn't say anything in Adrian's defense.

Suddenly Adrian remembered something, "But we were supposed to be moving! It was all because of me that we were moving! I was going to get to live in an actual house for once in my life! No, I'm not moving out. You can't make me. We are going to be a real family who lives in a real house. I'm not going to stay with Grace." Cindy was now crying, "It's what's best honey," she said as Reuben put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. Adrian opened her mouth to say something but her lips couldn't form the words. She slowly closed her mouth and got up from the couch. She turned to go to her room but before doing so she turned to her father and said, "So much for wanting to make up the past sixteen years to me."

Across town Amy was sitting in her kitchen yelling at Ben over the phone.

"Can you believe that she's actually going to be living next door to me?" she was saying, "I don't want her anywhere near John!"

She heard Ben sigh and then say, "Amy it's not the end of the world. And what's she gonna do to John? I mean come on," he laughed and waited for her to reply, but then realized she had hung up on him.

From upstairs Amy could hear John crying, wanting to be let out of his crib.

"Jesus," she muttered, taking an extra long time to climb up the stairs. She was confused. She loved John, she knew she did. But why did he aggravate her so much? Why was she so unhappy around him? And worst of all, why did she sometimes regret keeping him?

Adrian sat on her bed with a half packed suitcase next to her. She had to force herself to not go out there and start hitting her parents. Because if she started, she didn't think she could stop. Out of anger she had the carved the words _I hate mom and dad_ into her door. So now it would be there forever. Even when Reuben and her mom moved out the people who lived there next would see it and so forth. The next day at school she was going to ask Grace if she could stay with her. Of course Grace would be more than happy to take her in but she would want to know why. And Adrian wasn't ready to tell anyone at school. Not even Grace, her best friend.

So Adrian sat there reminiscing and thinking about all the times she and Ricky had had in this room. And in the living room. And on the patio. And in the parking lot. And just about everywhere else in this stupid building. Now that she had herself thinking about Ricky it got her thinking about the baby. She didn't know what she was going to do.


	3. Chapter 3

At school the next day the first person Adrian talked to was Ricky. But not by choice. She had been on her way to her locker when he swooped in to her path, cutting her off.

"Where were you last night?" he asked her.

She remembered Reuben telling her he had come by the previous night. "Oh," she said, "I was out."

"Out? Out where?"

"Just out."

"Like," he said, "Out on a date?"

"No," she said slowly, "I was just driving around."

"Just driving around," he repeated.

"Yes Ricky."

He narrowed his brown eyes. "Is that code for something?"

Adrian rolled her eyes and just looked at him. At that moment Adrian saw Grace coming down a nearby stair case.

"Oh, I have to go talk to Grace."

"You coming over tonight?" he asked.

Adrian nodded and smiled. So what if she was pregnant? Ricky didn't have to know that…

"Why do you need to stay with me?" Grace asked Adrian five minutes later.

Adrian rolled her eyes. This would be a lot easier if Grace didn't act so concerned.

"I'm fighting with my parents, okay? So can I stay with you or what?" Adrian was not the patient type.

Grace didn't waste any time saying, "Of course you can stay with me. We'd love to have you!" but then she lowered her voice and said, "As soon as you tell me the real reason you need to."

Adrian sighed. Was there really any point in lying to Grace? No, of course not. Well as long as Grace didn't tell anyone. After all Grace had been the one to tell everyone Amy's dad's secret about not getting his vasectomy. "Okay fine. My parents kicked me out."

Grace's mouth dropped open practically to the floor, "What? Oh my gosh, Adrian, I'm so, so sorry! What happened? Did you do something? Something bad? Oh, Adrian what did you do _now_?" Adrian just had to roll her eyes at this. Grace was ridiculous sometimes.

"God, Grace," Adrian said, looking around making sure no one heard any of that, "Don't blow up."

Grace swallowed and said, "Well…why _did_ they…kick you out?" Grace winced as she said the words "kick you out". Adrian sighed and tiredly told Grace her news. After she told her Adrian had to slap her hand over Grace's mouth to keep her from broadcasting it to the entire school.

"My _God_, Grace, you don't _scream_ it!"

Grace finally calmed down after about seven years and was able to talk to Adrian again. "Adrian! How is that even possible? I thought you were on birth control!"

"Well, you know…"

Grace bit her lower lip and said, "So…Ricky?"

Adrian hesitated before shaking her head, "No. Absolutely not. He's not the father."

Grace gave her an _Oh yeah right _look. "Why are you so sure? It's like, a ninety nine point nine percent chance that it's him," Adrian glared at her, "Well am I wrong? You two go at it almost every night."

Adrian looked at Grace for a moment before cocking her head to the side and saying, "You're so right."

"So…does that mean it could be Ricky's baby?"

"No."

"Adrian."

"No."

"_Adrian__."_

"_No."_

Grace breathed out slowly and said one last time, "Are you _sure_ that it's not _possibly_ Ricky's baby?"

"I'm sure," But even as she said this she knew deep down that she couldn't be sure.

That evening Adrian found herself being hoisted up in to Ricky's arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her in to his bedroom. He kissed her and she kissed him back. It felt right. It felt more than right. She felt like she never wanted to be anywhere else with anyone else. She remembered the time not long ago when they had went to therapy together and he had held her hand for the first time. And later that night he had told her he loved her. Thinking if this made her think of the baby and that made her break away from his lips and look down at her stomach.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Nothing," she went back to kissing him. She had been sure she felt something move. But how could she already be feeling anything this early? She had probably just imagined it. But then she thought she felt it again. And feeling it made her want to be close to Ricky. She wrapped her bear arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his.

_Why can't this last? _She asked herself, _why can't we stay teenagers forever?_


	4. Chapter 4

About two weeks later at school Adrian and Grace were standing in the middle of the hallway arguing about the baby.

"Adrian, you _have _to go see a doctor!"

"No, Grace, I _don't_ have to see a doctor!"

"But what if something goes wrong? You would need a doctor for that!"

"Not _everyone _goes to doctors when they're in this situation, Grace."

"But you _should! _I'm only looking out for you."

Just then Adrian noticed that they were attracting quite a crowd. They hadn't exactly been keeping their voices down. _Great, _Adrian thought, _now everyone's gonna know there's something going on with me. _Actually Adrian suspected that people were already wondering. She had only gained one pound, but she was definitely having mood swings. It wasn't very fair to Ricky; one minute she would be making out with him and the next she would be telling him she just wanted to be friends and then she would start kissing him again and it never ends. And the other day she had started tearing up at a TV commercial.

"Fine. I'll go to a doctor. Happy?"

Grace sighed with relief, "Yes. It's the right thing to do."

So that afternoon after school Adrian drove to the free clinic with Grace in the passenger seat reading a book on pregnancy that she had gotten from the school library.

"Did you know that you probably won't start to show until the third month?" she asked with her nose in the book.

"No, Grace I didn't know that."

"And you won't have morning sickness until the second month."

"Can't wait."

"It's also normal for you to be experiencing dizziness and—

Adrian cut her off, "Grace, I'd rather not know what I'm going to have to go through. It's not exactly something to look forward to."

"Oh. Ok."

When they finally pulled up to the clinic Adrian was the first one to hop out. "Okay, lets get this over with."

Once they were in the room with the Doctor, Grace agreed to wait in the waiting room. She sat there for about twenty minutes before Adrian walked out, frowning. Adrian and Grace looked at each other for a moment before Adrian said, "I want to slap you."

Amy and Ricky were standing in Amy's kitchen when suddenly Ricky's cell phone rang.

"Hey," he said, knowing it would be Adrian.

"Is tonight good?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll be over there soon."

"I can go to your place."

Adrian tried to think of something to say without letting him know she was staying with Grace, "Uh…you can't. Reuben's going to be home. I'll just go over there."

"Okay, see you then." He closed his phone and looked over at Amy who was twirling a lock of her hair.

"Was that Adrian?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Look, I don't really want you seeing her. It's not appropriate. You have a son and you're sleeping with her…it's just not right."

Ricky exhaled in exasperation, "You can't control what I do. And besides, you're dating Ben."

"But I'm not sleeping with him!"

"Really? Why not?"

"Because I don't want to. And if you're going to be with Adrian, then I'm afraid I don't want you around John."

"You don't make the rules. I have every right to see John, no matter who I'm with. He's my son too."

"You don't have every right," Amy screamed at him, "You don't even do all the hard stuff! I'm the one who has to do everything, and then you just get to come over and see him, for like an hour every day and then leave to go be with Adrian. It's not fair, it's just not!"

"That's not true and you know it. I don't know why you're always in such a bad mood. You're not the only teenage mother in the world." Just then John started crying.

"Why can't he just sleep for once?" Amy asked.

"I'll get him," Ricky said, heading for the doorway.

"Wait."

Ricky stopped and looked at Amy. Out of the blue, she started to cry too.

"Is it something I said?" Ricky asked cautiously.

"My life stinks," Amy sobbed. She walked over and rested her head on Ricky's shoulder. Ricky backed away and said, "I have to go get John." He walked out of the room leaving Amy there wondering what had just happened.

"I know I can't stay with you forever. I'll start looking for some place cheap tomorrow."

Grace who was sitting on her neatly made bed looked up at Adrian who was leaning against her desk. "Won't your parents let you come home?"

Adrian shook her head, "No. I called Reuben last night and he told me that ever since he met me all I've done is complicate his life. And he doesn't want me anymore."

"Adrian, I'm so, so sorry. You can stay with us as long as you need to. We want to help you."

Adrian looked at Grace. "_We?_ Who's we? You didn't tell anyone did you?"

Grace bit her lower lip and looked away. Adrian opened her mouth and shouted, "¡La mierda, hace no usted está a mí, la Grace! Si usted piensa por un segundo que yo no estoy en a usted —

"Okay! I told my mom and Tom! Don't be mad! Please, please, please! I tell them everything and I couldn't keep something like that from them…" she trailed off.

Adrian looked up towards to the ceiling and sighed, "¿Por qué mí?"

"Could you at least speak English? I have no idea what you're saying, and it's confusing to have a conversation when you don't know what the other person is saying and—

Adrian held up her hand to stop her, "But really, Grace. I'm going to find my own place to stay. It's something I want to do for myself, so don't try to stop me."

"But why? You are welcome to stay with us."

"Just for now."

Grace sighed and gave in. But then she smiled and said, "I made up with Jack."

"Finally. I told you there was nothing going on with him and gossip girl," Adrian rolled her eyes, for the millionth time.

"Her name is _Madison, _and I invited her to have lunch with me tomorrow. I want to let her know that I have no hard feelings toward her." Grace smiled and tucked her blond hair behind her ear. Adrian sat there frowning. "What's the point? She probably won't even know what you're talking about, anyway. You don't always have to be so nice."

"But I do, Adrian. And maybe you should follow my example. You and Amy can still be friends, you know."

"I'm not the one who's not being nice! She calls me a slut every chance she gets, and I don't want to be friends with her! I don't even want to talk about her, so why do you always have to bring her up?"

"Because it's important that you have a positive relationship with the mother of your boyfriend's baby? I don't know, it can't hurt is all I'm saying."

"Yeah, well maybe it _can _hurt. Listen, I have to go. I'll be back by midnight."

Grace's eyes widened, "Where are you going?" Adrian smirked and said, "Where do you _think _I'm going?"

"Adrian! You're _pregnant!_"

"So? It doesn't affect anything. See you." And off to Ricky's apartment she went.


	5. Chapter 5

As Adrian neared her second month of pregnancy she grew more aware of the symptoms. She found her self experiencing fatigue and morning sickness. _Grace was wrong, _she thought to her self as she vomited in Ricky's bathroom, _it's only the second month and I'm already throwing up._ The night before Adrian had been so tired that Ricky couldn't get her to leave, so she just spent the night. He was starting to get suspicious why he could never go over to her place anymore, but Adrian just told him that Reuben was spending a lot more time over there.

Adrian had been searching for apartments, and she thinks that she's found one she likes. Well, she doesn't _like_ it but its cheap and that's what she cares about. It's a little building that has two apartments in it that you access from outside . Adrian had made an offer on the smaller of the two a couple of weeks ago, and if she gets a job then she should be able to pay for it.

One day Grace had been reading the newspaper and had spotted an add for a job at the daycare. It wasn't far from Adrian's potential apartment and it pays eight dollars an hour. Now, Adrian didn't want to get _that _job but Grace had insisted it on her. "It will be good practice just in case you might want to keep the baby." When she said this Adrian looked up at her, surprised, "What? Of course I'm keeping it." Grace cocked her head, "Are you sure? I mean it's a big responsibility, having a kid." Adrian rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, you think Amy can do it but I can't?"

"No, but Amy has like, a million people helping her. Who do you have?"

Adrian said, slightly defeated, "I have me."

"Do you think people have noticed?"

"Is it that noticeable already?" Adrian looked down at her slightly curved belly.

"Sort of," Grace said sympathetically.

"But you said that it wouldn't be until the third month that I start to show."

Grace's moth dropped open, "Oh my gosh, you're right! What if something's wrong? What if the baby is overweight? Oh my gosh, we've got to get you to the hospital!" Adrian snorted, "I don't think we have to start worrying about the baby being overweight until it's actually out of my body. I'm sure it's perfectly normal to start showing at two months."

Grace nodded and asked, "When do find out whether it's a boy or a girl?"

"Probably at around twenty weeks." Grace nodded again. Adrian knew that topics like this made her a bit uncomfortable. Grace was a Christian. Enough said. But she was a good enough friend to stick by Adrian no matter what.

The next day was a Saturday so Adrian and Grace drove to the daycare together to try and find Adrian a job. There were two daycares in town. One was in the church where Amy worked, and there was no way that Adrian was going to work with Amy. So she chose the one that lower class people dump there kids in. It was in a little cement building with lots of cracks in the walls. As soon as the two friends walked in an extremely strong, musty smell hit them. Adrian pulled her shirt up over her nose, "Ew, it smells like old people."

"Not so loud," Grace muttered as a heavyset lady at the front desk in this tiny little room looked up from her magazine. "How can I help you?" She asked effortlessly. Grace wasted no time in saying, "My friend Adrian," she gestured toward Adrian who had her face pinched up, "was looking for a job and we saw that you were hiring in the paper—

"Sure. You can start right now. Now I won't have to _tend _to the little things." The woman went back to her magazine. Adrian snorted and Grace's face lit up, "Oh, really? That's great!" Adrian, on the other hand was looking none too happy about this. She was gesturing for Grace to come over. Grace smiled at the lady and trotted over to where Adrian hovered in the doorway. "Adrian, you have a job! You can start right now!"

"Yeah, I heard. Look, I don't think this job is gonna work out for me. I'm not sure I want to work at a place that smells like a senior center."

"You need this job! Just try it, okay?" After a few more moments of bantering Adrian finally agreed to try it out.

"Do you want me to stay a while?" Grace asked. Adrian rolled her eyes and replied smugly, "It's not my first day of preschool, Grace. I don't need you to hold my hand."

"All right, I'm leaving. I just have to call Jack to come pick me up."

"Just get a cab," Adrian said with a wave of her hand.

"A cab? How?" Adrian gave Grace a look and muttered a few words in Spanish as she took out her phone. She flipped it open, dialed a few numbers and put it to Grace's ear. "Just tell them to get a cab down here. It's not that hard." She tapped her foot as Grace hesitantly asked for a cab. After about five minutes Grace was finally out the door looking over her shoulder at Adrian who was flaunting up to the woman at the desk. "So…what do I need to do first?"

Without looking up from her magazine she handed Adrian a piece of paper and said, "The kids will be here soon. Just follow the schedule. Oh, and one of them only speaks Spanish, so don't even try to communicate with her. Its hopeless."

"I speak Spanish. It's my first language."

"Whatever, just do what the schedule says." Adrian wasn't even sure the woman had heard her, but she walked through the doorway labeled _Play Room_, anyway. The room was not very big, but it was packed with lots of stuff. There were toys, books, food, a hamster, diapers, tables—_Wait, diapers? How young are these kids anyway? Am I going to have to take care of littlie babies? _Thoughts were running through Adrian's head as she heard a small voice in the other room. "Hi Miss Scott," it was saying, "Daddy says I have to be picked up early today."

"Well, you know where to go," said the voice of the woman at the desk. From the sound of her voice Adrian assumed she wasn't very fond of children. _Then why would she be working at a daycare?_ Thought Adrian. _But then again, why am I here? Because I'm seventeen and I'm having a baby. _A little girl with short brown hair walked in to the room carrying a pink purse. "You're not the regular teacher," the little girl said, pointing her finger at Adrian.

Adrian snorted, "Don't you point your finger at me, kid. I have a special finger of my own that I can show you."

What?"

"Nothing," Adrian glanced down at the paper in her hand.

**Daily Schedule**

7:00-8:00- Free play, table toys and puzzles

8:00-8:30- Morning snack (see menu taped on fridge)

8:30-9:00- Coloring and play dough

9:00-9:15- Circle time (see bulletin board)

9:15-9:45- Art Project

9:45-10:00- Learning time (see bulletin board)

10:00-11:00- Outside play

11:00-11:30- Lunch (see menu taped on fridge)

11:30-11:45- Song time

11:45-12:00- Story time

12:00-1:00- Free play

1:00-3:00- Nap time

3:00- 4:00-Free play, coloring, play dough

4:00-5:00- Outside play

5:00-5:30- Parent pickup

Adrian looked up at the girl who was also staring right back at her. "What's your name?" she asked the child. "Morgan Elisabeth Parks," she answered proudly.

"That's a cool name. I'm Adrian, but you can call me slut."

"What does slut mean?"

"It means…that you enjoy life."

"Can I call you Miss Foxy Loxy?"

"That's kind of weird, but do what you want, kid."

Morgan smiled and made her way over to a nearby table with puzzles on it. She seemed to be the kind of person who was happy to go with the flow. Adrian decided that she liked her. She followed her over to where she now sat in a wooden, green chair. "So, what's the deal with this place anyway?" she asked her, "Is it fun?"

Morgan took her time answering this, making sure to find the right piece to the puzzle first, "Well, it's not as fun as my playroom at home. The one at home has all my Barbies, but this one is still fun." Adrian smiled just as a boy who looked to be about five came in the door holding his mother's hand. The lady who looked to be in her mid forties walked right up to Adrian and extended her hand. "Hello, I'm Eliza Fairfax and this is my son Dylan." Adrian shook her hand awkwardly, "Hey." Eliza looked at Adrian, expecting her to introduce herself. When Adrian didn't she said politely, "And you are?"

"Oh. I'm Adrian Lee."

"But you can call her slut!" Morgan shouted from her place at the table.

Eliza looked appalled as she said, "I beg your pardon?"

"Nothing," Adrian said quickly, trying not to laugh.

"She also has a special finger that she can show you!" Morgan said happily, building her puzzle.

Now, Eliza looked as though she might pass out. "I would hope that you are not teaching these children obscene language and gestures!"

Adrian rolled her eyes _again _and said, "Oh, they're gonna grow up hearing worse, so what's the big deal?"

Eliza looked completely outraged, and said, "The big deal is that you are poisoning the minds of innocent children. You don't deserve this job."

"I need the money. That's why I got a job."

"What, are you saving money for, college? You don't look the type of person that would go to college."

"Well, I do plan to go to college when I graduate from high school next year, but that's not what I need the money for."

"What then? A car?"

"No, I have a car."

"Then…some expensive perfume?"

Adrian frowned, "No. I'm getting an apartment." She didn't know why she was telling this stranger all this information about her life, but she wanted to show her that she wasn't some silly kid looking for a few bucks to put in her piggy bank or whatever.

Eliza narrowed her eyes, "And why aren't your parents providing money for a place to live?"

"They kicked me out." Again, Adrian didn't know why she was telling her this.

Eliza now looked amused if not happy. She raised her eyebrows, "Oh, I see," she looked down at her son, "Come, Dylan. You're not going to this daycare anymore. We'll find you somewhere nicer to go." As she turned to leave, Adrian flashed her the finger. "Was that your special finger?" Morgan asked her, having finished her puzzle. Adrian smiled. "You catch on fast, kid."

That first day of work Adrian learned a few things. First of all she learned that On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are the days that toddlers are there. Theses ages consist of three to five year olds. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays is when babies are there (children as young as one month can come). She also learned that grownups don't like her. At least most of them don't. After the whole _Eliza Fairfax incident _there were a few more quite like it. Morgan told about five other parents about the new word and hand gesture that she learned from Adrian, and two of the parents took their child home right then and there. Ms. Scott would have fired her if she wasn't the only one who had applied for the position. But Adrian didn't plan on keeping that job for long. When she got home from work that day there were a few boxes stacked in Grace's room. "Your mom dropped them off while you were at work," she said softly. Adrian peered in to one of them. There were some clothes, a few purses and buried just beneath the surface was her favorite one of Ricky's shirts. _He must have left it in my room, _Adrian thought to her self. She decided that she would keep it for a little while. Just for something to hold on to. "Your dad left you some money," Grace continued walking over to her desk where an envelope lay. Adrian subconsciously took the envelope and put it in her pocket. "Thanks," she said faintly. Grace took her hand, "I can't imagine how hard this must be for you." Adrian smiled at her friend. Sometimes she forgot how much she loved Grace, but this reminded her. "Now it just seems so…final," she said, "Now that they're dropping off all my stuff…there's just no going back is there?" Grace studied her for a moment and then cautiously said, "You really should tell Ricky. Or whoever the father is. At least just tell me. Who is the father?"

Adrian's hand flew to her stomach. She felt a kick. She felt a kick on the inside of her stomach. She covered her face with her hand. This was starting to get to her.

"Oh, I don't know Grace. I could be Ricky, the pizza guy, the other pizza guy, that hot kid from school—what's his face—or about a million other guys who I can't think of right now."

Grace was just standing there with her mouth open. "Adrian. You have a problem." She nodded slowly and Adrian made an _oh please_ sound and said, "Oh, who cares? You don't think I'm a slut too do you? Don't answer that." She shook her head, "God, what am I going to do? I have no plan. I don't have a place to live. I don't know how to have a baby.

"Everyone's gonna think that I'll be a horrible mom. Because I'm just the class slut. And I don't have a problem with people thinking I'm a slut…It's just…" Suddenly Adrian's expression changed and she shot Grace a look, "If you tell _anyone _about this I'll come after you Grace Bowman!" Grace flinched as if Adrian had hit her. "Are you having one of your mood swings?"

Adrian laughed under her breath. "Yeah."

"How much did you make today?" Grace asked.

"Like, sixty bucks. Not enough to pay the rent on that stupid apartment."

"Well that was only your first day."

"I'm not going back there. I'll find a new job. I don't like kids and they don't like me. And don't even get me started about the parents. They look at me like I'm trash." Adrian shook her head bitterly.

"You're not trash and you know it. You've just been raised under hard circumstances." Grace looked at Adrian carefully before she said, "What was it like growing up without a dad? And with your mom never really being there and all…" she trailed off, waiting for Adrian to answer.

"I don't know…I never really thought much about my dad until last year. And my mom…it was just what I was used to; her never really paying much attention to me. I didn't mind it. I kind of like being by myself. I'm not that much of a people person."

"I know that. You still have me," Grace said with a sad smile. "And Ricky."

Adrian laughed, "Not for long. Not when he finds out about this beautiful situation I'm in." Adrian gestured to her stomach.

"Adrian. He'll be there for you. You know that," Grace put her hand on Adrian's shoulder, something she had learned at medical camp.

"I don't know, Grace," Adrian said, in barley a whisper, "I don't think he'd go for this again."

Grace opened her mouth but was at loss for words. Would Ricky stand by Adrian's side, or would he abandon her?

The next day Grace dragged Adrian back to the daycare for her second day of work. The whole car ride there Adrian tried to tell her friend she was not keeping that job, but Grace was convinced otherwise.

"You really need this job, Adrian. It might not be easy to get another one," she said as they pulled in to the parking lot. Adrian, however would not listen.

"I'm going in there and I'm quitting. I don't belong there and you know it."

"Adrian, please just—

"No, Grace. You can't change my mind," Adrian said, as the two girls walked side-by-side in to the small building.

The same lady from the previous day was sitting at the front desk. This time she was reading a novel titled _Kiss Me Tender._ She looked up as Grace and Adrian walked in.

"Ah, yes. I've been meaning to speak to you," she nodded to Adrian.

"Who, me?"

"Uh-huh. Many of my costumers called last night telling me that they would no longer be bringing their children to this daycare. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

"Um…" Adrian glanced quickly at Grace whose eyes had gotten large with worry. But then something seemed to trigger in Adrian's brain.

"Yes! I taught all the kids how to cuss and give people the finger," she said proudly.

The women closed her eyes for a moment and then quietly said, "Thank you. I think you're done here, Miss Lee."

"Great, thanks," Adrian said brightly as she opened up the door. Grace, with a look of horror, uttered an apology as she strode out the door, red in the face, followed by a grinning Adrian.

Back in the car Grace was beside herself with fury.

"_You—taught—the—children—how—to—cuss!"_ She hissed she said, clenching her fists by her side.

"No," Adrian laughed, "Slut is not a cuss word."

"Wait, what?" Grace, not knowing exactly what had gone on was confused.

"Nothing. Well, that takes care of that problem," Adrian said, coming to a halt at a red light.

"Um, that _problem _could have been the solution to the real _problem._ Now what are you going to do?" Grace threw her hands up.

"Stop worrying. It'll all work out," Adrian said, as though she could predict the future.

"It won't work out unless you _make _it work out," Grace seemed on the verge of tears, trying to make Adrian realize what was happening. Adrian, however just smirked as she pulled in to Grace's driveway.


	6. Chapter 6

A week passed and Adrian had still failed to find another job. She had also gained three more pounds, making a total of eight. She was able to cover it up pretty good by wearing loose shirts, though. One day at school she and Ricky sat in health class, where most of the students were staring at the clock, urging it to move faster. But unfortunately they still had forty-five minutes to go.

While pretending to watch a video about why smoking is bad for you, Adrian's cell phone began vibrating, indicating she was getting a text message.

_Hi, _it read. It was from Ricky. Adrian smiled. Their conversation went like this:

Adrian: how old school of you. it's like passing notes

Ricky: I can't take another minute of this class

Adrian: It was either this or music appreciation

Ricky: that's true

Adrian glanced at Ricky who was looking at her, a small grin on his face. She quickly looked away. For a moment she had considered telling him. She stared down at her phone and before she knew what was happening she punched in a message that read: I'm having a baby. I think you're the dad.

Adrian closed her eyes and pressed send, immediately regretting it. However, at that moment the teacher, Mr. Huton, sharply said Ricky's name, causing the majority of the class to jump in surprise.

"Ricky Underwood! Please come up to the board and write down five facts about smoking in the U.S."

"Okay then," Ricky got up, leaving his phone inside his desk. Adrian noticed this, and as soon as Mr. Huton turned his back she made a lunge for it, being watched by those sitting around her. With trembling hands she deleted the message she had just sent and managed to put it back in Ricky's desk before he sat down again. She let out an unsteady breath. That had been a close call.

For the rest of the class Adrian avoided looking at Ricky and didn't text him again. The idea of him finding out made her cringe. Once the bell rang she darted out of the room before Ricky could try to talk to her. She only had one more class left of the day and then she was free. She quickly dialed her locker combination and pulled out her advanced trigonometry book and notes. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ricky exiting the class. Adrian predicted he'd come over and talk to her and sure enough he started in her direction. But all of a sudden a tall, blond girl walked up next to him, causing him to stop and look at her. She was wearing a black hoodie and bright pink skinny jeans. She was red in the face and giggling. _She likes Ricky, _thought Adrian, furiously.

Ricky's expression seemed as though he was looking right through her. With his eyes going out of focus he muttered, "Hi."

"Hi," the girl blushed. Ricky stood there, waiting for the conversation to end. After a few more moments of awkward silence she spoke up again," I'm Kelley Swan. I'm a sophomore. I know Amy. We sit next to each other in math."

"Er…good," Ricky said.

"Ha ha, yeah. It was, like so funny, we were passing notes one time and we almost got caught! I felt like such a rebel," She said with a laugh.

"Yeah…that's pretty cool."

"So…um," Kelley started to look nervous, "Maybe we could hang out sometime…like maybe we could go out. If you want."

That was the last straw. Adrian shoved her books back in her locker, not bothering to close it, and marched right over to Ricky and his admirer. Ricky went slightly pink in the face when he realized she had obviously heard the whole thing. Kelley, however, looked very taken aback. Adrian reached Ricky, took his face in her hands and planted a big kiss on his lips. They stayed that while for a while until after a minute they both came up for air, looking dazed.

"You've gotta shave Ricky," Adrian told him.

"Yeah, so do you," Ricky felt her cheek.

"Oh, shut up," Adrian said, playfully hitting him on the arm. She felt like someone was watching her and she turned to her side, only to find Kelley Swan looking down on her, as she was about a foot taller than Adrian.

Adrian waved her arms and said, "¡Consiga! ¡Pase, lárguese!" Although Kelley didn't speak Spanish she seemed to get the message.


	7. Chapter 7

That day as Adrian drove herself and Grace home from school they passed a diner with a sign in the window that said they were hiring.

"Adrian, look!" Grace said, pointing to the sign. Adrian looked at her and rolled her eyes.

"You're kidding, right? That place looks like it's from the fifties. And not in a good way either." Grace threw up her hands and raised her voice.

"When are you going to realize that you can't keep the baby unless you have a job? A job that you keep for more than one day! And you still haven't gone and looked at that apartment for rent that you like. Adrian, whether you want to or not, you _have _to at lest try to get that job. Just call them when we get back to my house. Please. For me?"

Adrian sighed, "Fine. Whatever, Grace."

Grace let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you," she muttered.

After the two girls arrived at Grace's house and dropped their school bags on the kitchen table, Grace got out the phone book.

"Uh, lets see….oh! Here it is: Wendy's Place," Grace put her finger on the name and reached for the phone.

"Grace. I think I can do it," Adrian took the phone off its stand and dialed the number while Grace stood back and watched her.

"Wendy's Place, Donna speaking, how can I help you?" The voice on the other end said.

"Um, hi. I saw that you were hiring and I think I might be a good job candidate or whatever. My name's Adrian."

"Well I think we can get an interview in tomorrow around four. Is that good for you?"

"Yeah, sure, that works."

"Alright, can I get your full name?"

"Adrian Lee_._ Oh, by the way….how much would I be making?"

"Well, we'll discuss that tomorrow, hon."

"No, hon. Let's discuss it now. I'm not going to be interested in this job if I don't make at least…..eight fifty an hour." Adrian said.

"Adrian, don't be difficult," Grace warned.

Adrian ignored her and said to Donna, " Look, Lady, I'm seventeen and pregnant. I've got nowhere to live, no job, no nothing. I need to know how much I'm going to get or I'm just wasting my time here."

There was a pause and Donna spoke "I really don't like you. And I don't fell sorry for you. But you'll be making at least seven twenty five. There, happy?"

"Yeah, yeah. Well, see you tomorrow!" and she hung up.

Grace sighed, "You got really lucky. Most people would have hung up on you for talking to them like that."

"Not everyone's a sissy like Amy Jergons, Grace. They don't cry when people tell it like it is. Anyway, I'm going to Ricky's."

Grace threw her arms up, "I give up", she said, "I just give up."


	8. Chapter 8

Adrian lay in the dark next to Ricky on his bed. She'd barely gotten away from Grace's house earlier. But she did a good job on hiding her hurt from her friend. The truth was, she was lonely. Even here with Ricky right next to her she felt more alone than ever. She showed up at his door looking for someone to talk to, hoping he'd see it in her eyes that she just needed him. She hoped that for once, just once, he'd let her inside and not even have sex on his mind. But of course, he's spent half the night pleading for her to give in, until finally, she just let him have what he wanted. Soon after, he fell asleep.

With tears slipping down her cheeks, she silently cried for all the things she's lost, and everything she's yet to lose. She rolled over so her back was to Ricky. He did not deserve to see her like this. Sometimes she despised herself for loving him so much. She could have any guy she wanted, but she had to choose the one who wouldn't love her back. _Just my luck, _she thought. She rolled back over so she was face to face with him.

"I love you," she said. The light sleeper he is, he awoke immediately. "I hate myself for it, but, God do I love you." Then she quietly got out of bed, dressed herself, and walked to his bedroom door. Before leaving, she turned back. He was sitting up, his eyes sad.

"What makes it so hard to love me?" she asked him, her voice barely a whisper, and then left without waiting for his reply.

(I know this chapter is short. I only had about five minutes to write tonight, but hopefully i'll be putting up more chapters soon!:))


	9. Chapter 9

*Okay guys, here it is! Even if some of you may not like it, everything that happened in this chapter had to happen in order for the story to work out in the end! I promise! Please review:)*

Amy Jergons sat at the kitchen table, drinking a glass of water. John had been put to bed, and her parents had called her and Ashley in for a family meeting. Once they were all seated, George began to speak.

"Girls," he began, "A man in L.A. wants us to expand the store." He watched as his daughter's eyes widened.

"There's a great location over there, perfect for the store. It's much bigger than what we've got now, and at a good price. In a few years we'd probably be able to open up a few more stores in the area." He looked them both in the eye, "How would you two feel about moving to L.A.?" Smiles broke out on both their faces. Amy jumped up.

"How soon can we leave?" She asked eagerly. George and Anne exchanged knowing glances.

"I'd say we'd be ready in about one month."

The next day at school, Amy tracked down Ricky. He was standing by his locker, appearing to be waiting for someone. She ran up to him and shook his shoulder. He jumped, having not heard her approach.

"Ricky," she said, "We're moving to L.A.!"

He stared at her blankly, "L.A.?" he asked.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. She told him everything George had explained the night before. He just kept staring at her.

"L.A.?" he repeated.

"Yes, L.A.!" Amy beamed across at him, "My dad already put a down payment on this huge house! And the high school is really bid, and the shopping's amazing-"

He cut her off, "What about me?" he asked, "What am I supposed to do when you get up and take my son away?"

Amy gave hima puzzled look. "Well, you'd come with us, wouldn't you? I though that's what you always said we would do."

Ricky threw his arms up, "I only said that because I didn't think you'd ever actually leave! At least, not before graduation. I mean…I have a life here!"

Amy glared at him, "John is your life. If you were a good father you'd follow him everywhere! You're coming with us to L.A., Ricky. You're not staying here for…what? What do you have here that's so great, anyway?"

"Oh, I could think of a few things," Ricky said coldly, "I need time to think this over."

Amy narrowed her eyes, "It's decided, Ricky. We're moving, and that's final." And with that she spun around and went off in the direction of her own locker.

Ricky shook his head, trying to rid his mind of what had just happened. He didn't even have try, though, because when he saw Adrian come around the corner, everything in his mind was erased except for her.

He called out to her, in which she ignored him. Forgetting that his locker was wide open, he shoved past students late for class so he could get to her. But Adrian was bitter, and flat out ignored Ricky when he fell into step next to her.

"Adrian, come on," he said, "I said I was sorry this morning."

She stopped dead in her tracks and turned so she was looking right at him, cutting off everyone behind them.

"Yeah. You said sorry the morning after you practically forced me to have sex with you!"

Ricky rolled his eyes, "You and me both know you wanted to. You always want to."

"Maybe I did, and maybe I didn't. The point is, I said I didn't, and you didn't care what I said! You never care what I say, or what I feel, or what I want! And you can't see that it kills me to love you so much that I'd do anything for you. I'd die for you, and you never cared about me! One day you're in love with Amy, and John, and being a father! And the next, you're all over me, and I actually thought I was special because I was the one you kept coming back to. But then I realized that it's the coming back part that doesn't fit. You shouldn't have to keep coming back all these times! I'm just the girl that keeps you busy when you don't have someone else to love on. You cheat, you lie, and I can't even count the times you've been mean to me! I don't know what it is that makes me love you. But I want to remind you; you were to one to initiate our "thing" that we have. Not me. So, you have yourself to thank for all of this. And I'll tell you now, If you give me anymore crap about how your troubled background and stressful life is to blame, I'll never respect you again. Sorry for being so harsh, but it's the truth."

Ricky was quiet for a moment, and then said softly, "I don't think you can say how I feel about you like you just did, unless you can read my mind. And since, you can't, then you'd best not try to. I won't deny that I pressured you last night. I won't deny that I cheated and lied, and hurt you. And no, I didn't do it because I was abused, or because I had a kid at sixteen. Why I did it had a little more to do with you than you may think. Everything I said to you, every move I made, had to do with you. And yes, everything you said was true. I might be a little afraid of commitment, which is why I couldn't settle with just you. But, you did those same things to me, and I won't ask you for an explanation. I won't ever ask you for anything again. I'm moving to L.A. with Amy and her family in a month. I'm going to follow my son, because that's what a good father does, and I'd like to think of myself as just that. I'm sorry for causing you so much hurt over the past two years. But I guess we're ending it now, so…bye Adrian." He gently touched her cheek before he walked down the hallway and turned the corner, leaving Adrian alone and speechless, yet again.

She didn't care she was in a hallway full of her peers. She needed to yell, scream, cry, anything. She walked over to Ricky's open locker and slammed it shut as hard as she could. Everyone's heads turned toward her, but she didn't even care. She pushed her palms up against her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut.

_This is not happening, _she thought, _it's all a dream. Ricky's not moving, we're still together, my parents didn't' kick me out, I'm not broke, and I'm not having Ricky's baby, and he's not completely unaware of it._

She opened her eyes to find herself sitting down on the floor, leaning up against his locker. The hallway was deserted now; everyone was in class. Except Ricky. Adrian wasn't sure where he was, but she knew it wasn't school.

As she stood up, she remembered that she had the interview at the diner today. Now, she didn't see much point in getting a job. There was no way she could raise a child by herself in the state she was in.

Just then, Grace came bursting out of the counselor's office, a huge smile on her face.

"Adrian!" she exclaimed, her smile not fading, "Why aren't you in class?"

"Grace," Adrian said dully, "What are you doing?"

"You'll never believe what just happened! I just got accepted into a pre-med school camp in New York! I leave in a month!"

Adrian stared at her. "What?" she whimpered.

Grace's expression changed to worrisome. "Adrian, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, nothing," Adrian lied, "Everything's just fine. Have fun at camp, Grace. Just like Ricky and Amy will have fun being mommy and daddy in L.A." She spun around before Grace could respond and rushed out the school doors. As soon as she stepped outside, her cell phone began to ring. She fumbled with it in her pocket, and then got it out. It was an unknown caller.

"H-hello?" Adrian said.

"Adrian?" She almost dropped the phone. It was her mother.

"Mom!" She gasped.

"Adrian, I did a bad thing. I'm in trouble. This will probably be the last time you hear from me. I'm hiding out in Columbia. Your father's had to go back to Mexico. Listen, you can't try and contact either one of us."

Adrian struggled to find words, "What…mom…how…what did you do?"

"A lot of things, Adrian. But that's not important. I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I should have never let your father treat you like he did. I should have stood up for you, and just been there for you. But I never was. You've had to raise yourself your whole life so I know you can be a good mother to your child. I'm so sorry. I wish I could have done the same for you, my darling."

Adrian blinked back her tears. "I wish you could have too, mom. And I wish you could be here with me now, because I'm all alone."

After the phone call with her mother, Adrian began to feel utterly hopeless. Ricky's leaving. Grace's leaving. Her parents are long gone. She's alone. She's homeless. She's broke. She's sad. And she's pregnant.

Not realizing that Grace would be stranded at school, Adrian got into her car and drove. Her car. Her baby. Her red convertible. One of the only things she had left that was all hers.

She stuck the key in the ignition and drove past the school, past Amy's house, past Grace's house, Ricky's apartment, her old condo, her previous daycare job, and finally parked at the diner.

"Here goes nothing," She muttered, getting out.

She walked in, fully expecting not to get the job, but thirty minutes later she walked out as the new dishwasher.

She started tomorrow, on Saturday, which didn't' seem nearly soon enough; she was ready to start making money. And in a few weeks, she could be promoted to waitress. When she got back into her car, she made a decision. So she drove down to the home of the landlord of her potential apartment. He was a sleazy man in his thirties, who lived in the apartment next door. Despite the fact that he heavily flirted with her, and called her babe, she agreed to give him four hundred dollars to hold it for a month, and it would cost two hundred dollars for each coming month. He looked her up and down.

"You know babe, I'd let you stay at my place for as long as you like. For free."

At that, Adrian just rolled her eyes and got back into her car. Then she drove back across town to Grace's house to pack up her things. As she went through everything, she found about sixteen things that Ricky had forgotten as he rushed out her door in the middle of the night, as he had done so often. She found his old wallet with his sophomore ID card, six shirts, four pairs of pants, two pairs of boxers, a jacket, four mismatched socks, and three belts. She threw it all in a box so she could decide what to do with it later. Right now was about her, not Ricky.

So she packed up the rest of her stuff, tossed it in her car, and drove off toward her new home. When she ran into Ricky this month, and she knew she would, she would brush past him, and maybe smile. No passion. No drama. She told this to Grace on the phone later that night, as her friend wanted an explanation to why she moved out all of a sudden.

"Adrian," Grace said, "I think it's great that you're moving on from Ricky. Really. And I would think it was even greater if he wasn't the father of your unborn baby. But he is. And you're making a big mistake by not telling him. He leaves in one month. If you don't tell him now, he may never know."

"He wouldn't want to know, Grace," Adrian said, "I'm doing the both of us a favor. Trust me. It's better this way." And she hung up the phone. For the rest of the month Adrian did not say a single word to Ricky. It hurt her to glance over at him during school, talking to Amy or some other girl, and for him to not be hers. But it hurt more to be with someone who did not love her. So she stayed away from him for thirty days. On the first of August, he left without saying goodbye to her. And that was that.


	10. Chapter 10

Time went by. For everyone. Grace went off to med camp and met many other aspiring doctors like herself. She even decided to live in New York permanently, so Tom and her mother moved there as well. Jack became the football star and class president, but never failed to call Grace every night. Amy and her family moved into a nice, big house in the middle of L.A., and she and Ashley started home schooling, which gave the family more time together. Ricky got his own apartment a few blocks away from them, enrolled in public schooling, and got a job as a valet at Amy's favorite restaurant. He hated the job; Amy had persuaded him to get it so she could eat for cheaper. Ben slowly drove himself mad, thinking of how Amy was moving on with her life and he was still desperately in love with her. He withdrew himself from others, laying low at school and going straight from school to home. Adrian worked as a waitress at the same diner for nearly five months, just barely scraping by. She went to one doctor and found out that she was not having a baby. She was having two. Two twin girls. About two months into her senior year of high school she had failing grades in more than half her classes, and usually didn't even bother showing up. The girl who had once been at the top of all her classes. The girl who had once dreamed of Harvard, and Yale. This girl dropped out of high school on October 31. She went home and looked in the mirror and wondered who she was looking at. She called Grace that night and told her what she had done, expecting a long lecture. She even looked forward to one, if only to have something comforting. But Grace didn't say a word in response to Adrian's news. So Adrian spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Well? Aren't you going to lecture me?" Adrian asked.

Grace sighed, "No. There's nothing more I can do for you , Adrian. I tried." _I tried_. The words hit Adrian like a ton of bricks. I tried. Everyone tried to fix her. But maybe she was unfixable.

On December 19, Adrian sat on the floor of her little living room in her apartment. The air smelled like a musty old basement. _I should have listened to Grace,_ she thought miserably. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror across the room. She stared at her reflection and was disgusted with herself. But it was not her physical appearance that she found so revolting. For the past eight months she had hid. She'd hidden from everything. Grace's advice, Ricky, school, work, and reality. She had hid from the fact that he was going to be a mother. Ricky didn't even know and he was probably the father. And now, here she sat, all alone. Everyone had finally given up.

"I guess you really did it this time," she said softly to herself. She gave a small, sad laugh. She closed her eyes for a moment, and as soon as she did, the door burst open. She stood up so fast it made her stomach hurt. But she barely noticed the pain as she stared at Ricky, who looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"What…what's that?" He stammered, pointing to Adrian's belly with a shaking hand. Adrian couldn't look him in the eye. She averted her eyes to the floor as Ricky went on.

"You're…you're…"

"Pregnant." Adrian whispered, "Almost eight and a half months. My due date's January 23rd . And yes, I'm having twins."

Ricky was a complete loss for words. Before he could think of anything to say, he looked over at Adrian, whose mouth was hanging open, and she was staring at a puddle on the ground.

"I think my water just broke," Adrian said, a note of panic in her voice. She looked up at Ricky's face for the first time since he arrived. As she stared into the eyes of the young man whom she loved so dearly she melted a little. It'd been a really long while since she'd gotten to look at him.

"I swear to God," He muttered slowly, shaking his head, "You're going to kill me one of these days," and he grabbed her wrist and led her out the door, saying "Come on, we're going to the hospital."


End file.
